Does anyone else find it frustrating

[nRollo]

It seems to me that back in the day at Tom's he used to do benches with 2-3 different systems.

I think The Russian Sensation's thread about card vs. cpu is evidence that testing at the middle is in order as well, I guess given my choice I'd like to see 2500/3000/3800 type benches, although I realize this triples the work. (even if it was only on Far Cry/HL2/Doom3- who cares how fast Halo runs- we all know "not very")

I upgrade my cpu/motherboard annually, usually a bit below top end at price sweet spot. (last year A64 3000+, year before P4 2.5, year before AXP 1600+, etc) I've got to think I'm a somewhat "normal" gamer, and that not many people pay $800 for cpus that are obsolete within 12 months. (e.g. last years top end A64 FX51 probably isn't as fast as a $280 A64 3500+ 10 months later)

While I can appreciate not wanting to be cpu limited for benchmarking, the fact remains that a 9600XT/9800XT/X800Pro/X800XT PE will all perform at significantly different levels on most benchmarked games on a 3Ghz processor, and not everyone can or wants to dump $500 of value of their cpu to say they had the fastest chip for a couple months.

<politely steps off soap box, yielding floor to others>

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER

Originally posted by: Zebo
PCmag.com

I haven't been to their site or read their mag since I got on-line way back and discovered I was still a n00b despite building experience with several platforms. Don't they test a lot of OEM systems for their readers? I would think that is the place for those folks to go.

Exactamundo DP. Total n00b site that tests and compares prebuilts.

That's what he seems to be requesting. A system he has in mind, integrated graphics AXP2500 etc, won't even launch a modern game let alone play it.

Anyway i'm board with this topic. Everyone knows just about any comp is fine for 99% of joe six pack out there to pay bills and browse web. This is an enthusiast site, guys playing cutting edge games, running servers, and other demanding apps, if you're here that's what you should be into..if not leave and buy the cheapest dell or costco deal and you'll be fine...for a very long time.

 

[kogase]

Zebo, you said that you're bored, but I've got to defend myself on this point. I said 9800 Pro, not integrated graphics. There's a big difference here. I bought the parts for my system. I bought the parts I could afford, and they happen to be low to mid-range.

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: kogase
Akira1224, ok, good point, but... how about when they do a benchmark for a game review? When Half-Life 2 is realeased, I would like to see it benched witha 9800 Pro (what I'm planning on getting), with an Athlon 2500 (what I have). Surely people would like to know how the game, at least, will run on their machines, if not how the latest video card will.

If you stick around here, you WILL know how it runs on a system like yours b4 you purchase the game. There's usually a rush to benchmark the new games and peeps post the result. Exactly for the reason you articulate above.

Fern

 

[chsh1ca]

Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER
You may be fustrated by this but I am not. Why? Because these reviews are targeted primarily at those who are the most interested in the subject matter i.e. the enthusiasts. Since most of us 'round here were running single channel 3ghz+ NW and 2.2ghz+ XPs approximately 2 yrs ago, the XP3200+ is the low-end.[/b]

I own an even older processor (XP2000+/266FSB @~1820/333FSB), and am definitely out of this club, but I don't see a real issue with the lack of inclusion of these older processors. The point of a hardware review site is to review current hardware IMO, not to review hardware that was new a couple years ago. I *KNOW* how my system runs, what I want to know is whether the upgrade is worth the cash out, and what exactly I should be upgrading to. Dapunisher kind of covered this in his second post, but I'm just here echoing his sentiment as someone who doesn't have a be-all-and-end-all system. Because of AT's clutter-less get to the point reviews, I tend to read Anandtech more than any other hardware site.

The Sempron review shows you some "older clock speed" processors in action, but if I were upgrading from where I am now, the lowest I'd go in terms of processor would be an Athlon-64 3200+.

 

[flyboy84]

I think what's really nice is when AT or does a game review and does a roundup of CPU/VC combos for that game. I recal did something like this for Doom 3, and you can bet your balls they'll do it for HL2. I think a 9800P paired with a 2500 will do just dandy at HL2 so don't shed a tear I myself am running a 2500 OC'd to 3200, 1gb of pc3200, and soon to be a eVGA 6800 limited edition 256 mb (think 6800U underclocked for $325).